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Oh my: Bachmann within single digits of Romney in New Hampshire? posted at 7:12 pm on July 6, 2011 by Allahpundit Old theory: Mitt Romney really doesn’t want to have to face Perry or Palin in this race. New theory: Mitt Romney really needs Perry and/or Palin to run to divide tea partiers and halt Bachmann’s ascent. Her net favorable rating is now +40, up 20 points in just two months. In New Hampshire. When PPP polled New Hampshire in April Michele Bachmann was stuck at 4%. She’s gained 14 points over the last three months and now finds herself...

WASHINGTON - Representative Michele Bachmann has rapidly gained ground in a new poll of New Hampshire voters, tapping her popularity with Tea Party activists and potentially causing problems for Republican front-runner Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor, who has long dominated polls in the Granite State, had his lead cut to single-digits in a new survey done by Public Policy Polling. Although polls taken six months before voters head to the polls can be unreliable, they can also provide a window into a volatile Republican electorate. Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, would get 18 percent of the vote, according to the...

Expect Matthew Continetti's piece in the Weekly Standard to boost the candidacy of Michele Bachmann. Now I have to admit, I have not been a Bachmann fan. But I had to pay attention to Continetti's assertion: Bachmann is a far more serious candidate for the Republican nomination than her reputation would suggest. She's a talented fundraiser who raised $13.5 million for her 2010 reelection campaign. She's a television star who appropriately tailors her message to her audience. Her combativeness will delight conservatives eager to fight Barack Obama. Her movement credentials -- she founded the House Tea Party Caucus -- put...

Michele Bachmann balks at Sarah Palin 'girl power' Michele Bachmann says she's not a feminist. In an interview, the sole female GOP candidate for president doesn't talk about girl power the way Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton have. By Kristen Powers | Newsweek/DailyBeast She is clearly a trailblazer for women, throwing her hat into the highest ring in politics. But while Michele Bachmann became the first female presidential candidate of the 2012 campaign this week, she does not, interestingly enough, view herself as a feminist. Unlike Sarah Palin, who has brandished the feminist moniker and spoken of an “emerging conservative...

(CNN) -- With U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota making a splash in the Republican presidential campaign while Sarah Palin sits on the sidelines, is Bachmann edging Palin out of the Tea Party's heart? While the former Alaska governor, vice presidential candidate and Fox News commentator is still much loved as a smart, media savvy conservative who breathes fire against President Obama and Democrats, it appears that Tea Party excitement for a Palin presidential run has passed. One activist told CNN that Palin is "overexposed;" another said that unfair political attacks have left her "damaged;" while another said Palin's "high...

In his latest Time column, Republican super-strategist Mike Murphy outlines why the Michele Bachmann surge may be short-lived, and why it helps Mitt Romney for the time being: Finally, the billion-volt electron microscopes of the national media will soon be trained on Bachmann now that she’s the official Iowa front runner. I’ll bet dollars to Minnesota lutefisk that despite her new squad of professional handlers, we are in for more of Bachmann’s factual fumbles. Her latest mix-up, confusing the birthplace of beloved American icon John Wayne with that of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, hints that Michele’s next moves on...

There’s a lot I don’t know about Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Representative who just announced that she wants to be the next President of the United States of America, but I do know she is great eye candy and, given the present occupier of the office, I would much rather look at her in the Oval Office than him. She is—and I say this with all due respect—a babe. Mitt Romney, with whom she is currently a “front runner” in the nomination sweepstakes, looks classically presidential. He is a handsome fellow with a winning smile. My guess, though, is that...

On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace turned to his guest Michele Bachmann and asked her, “Are you a flake?” Later he apologized, explaining that he only meant to seek her answer to what others in the media and elsewhere were saying about her. But what Bachmann did in response helped establish the command she has in the Iowa caucus, and the growing respect of so many for her, including those who are her political enemies. Instead of complaining about the question, aside from saying that it was an insult because she is a “serious person,” she used the opportunity to...

Bachmann Hits Romney Again for Not Signing Pro-Life Pledge Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 6/28/11 10:21 AM Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who announced her presidential bid on Monday, is hitting Mitt Romney again on his decision to not sign the pro-life pledge the Susan B. Anthony List put forward. As LifeNews.com reported, the Susan B. Anthony List unveiled the pledge recently and indicated Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul signed it. The pledge has the candidates promising to support only judicial nominees who won’t interpret the Constitution in a way that supports...

During her appearance Sunday on Face The Nation, Michele Bachmann staked out what might be the toughest line in the Republican field against Mitt Romney on health care: That the individual mandate is not only unconstitutional at the federal level -- but the mandate is unconstitutional at the state level, too, as Romney passed it in Massachusetts. Romney has tried to massage the issue, by arguing that health care reform is largely a state matter, and a conservative would respect states' rights on the mandate while allowing other states to come up with their own solutions. But not Bachmann --...

Perry Watch: The Wall Street Journal says Perry has decided to run‎Houston Chronicle (blog) - 1 hour agoIn a post on the WSJ web site, James Freeman writes that “a Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for ... Video: Graves bill signed by Perry KXAN.comPerry Will Run, Unnamed Strategist Tells Wall Street Journal‎ - The AtlanticWSJ: Source Says Perry Will Run For President‎ - KSAT San AntonioThe Atlantic Wire - USA Todayall 356 news articles »

A PPP poll in Florida released today shows Mitt Romney still reigns in the Republican presidential race, but Michele Bachmann is on the rise, tied with Sarah Palin for second. The poll of Republican primary voters in Florida show: Romney, 27% Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, 17% Herman Cain, 10% Newt Gingrich, 8% Ron Paul, 7% Tim Pawlenty, 4% Jon Huntsman, 2% ... the overall standings in a Palin less field [are] 29% for Romney, 22% for Bachmann, 14% for Cain, and 10% for Gingrich.

For months, the conventional wisdom has been that Rep. Michele Bachmann was going to be all about Iowa. The Minnesota congresswoman was born and lived there until she was 14 years old. Her adoptive state is right next door. And she has clear appeal to the Iowa’s tea-party and social-conservative factions. But next week, after formally announcing her presidential campaign in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa, and after a brief stopover in New Hampshire, Ms. Bachmann plans to crisscross South Carolina.

Bachmann Claims Big Lead Among Iowa Conservatives In New Poll Rep. Michele Bachmann has taken a substantial lead in the presidential race among Iowa conservatives, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted by the 2012 Iowa Report, finds Bachmann with 33% support among conservatives, more than double the next contender, Herman Cain (15%). Bachmann’s Iowa polling numbers have risen dramatically over the past two weeks which included her campaign announcement and the GOP presidential debate. Among likely caucus goers, Bachmann also received 33% of the votes with 29% of likely voters thinking the Minnesota congresswoman will “ultimately win”...

According to House expense reports, Bachmann and three conservative GOP colleagues — Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) — each paid $3,407.50 that day, a total of $13,630, to a sound and stage company called National Events, apparently for the sound system used at the rally. The money came from the Members' taxpayer-funded office accounts, despite House rules prohibiting the use of these funds for political activities.

On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress. The assembled activists chanted, "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" and waved signs opposing a government takeover of health care — but they may not have known that the same government was paying for the event. According to House expense reports, Bachmann and three conservative GOP colleagues — Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) — each paid $3,407.50 that day, a total...

Bachmann generates buzz, Perry goes flat in Big Easy Both Romney, Pawlenty pass up gathering By Ralph Z. Hallow JUne 19, 2011 NEW ORLEANS — The expected emergence of Texas Gov. Rick Perry as the clear challenger to presidential nomination front-runner Mitt Romney never materialized at the annual Republican Leadership Conference here over the weekend. Mr. Perry underperformed, Jon Huntsman backed out, Newt Gingrich made a comeback, Michele Bachmann came off like a rock-star, Herman Cain got considerable love from the audience, Rick Santorum received quiet attentiveness, and Ron Paul’s supporters alienated party regulars as always. The two contenders that...

I've given birth to five babies, and I've taken 23 foster children into my home," Michele Bachmann explained from the stage of the first major Republican presidential primary debate of the 2012 season. Jon Stewart would joke the next day that Bachmann was the winner of the primary "baby-off." Imagining himself as the moderator, "The Daily Show" host added: "And I just wanna ask everyone else here up on the dais, have you ever had to divide a birthday cake into 28 equal pieces?" The Minnesota congresswoman was answering a question about abortion and brandishing her most authentic credentials as...

Just happened, very strange! Wolf Blitzer Interview with Michele Bachmann. Blitzer asked Bachmann 5 times do you agree with Tim Pawlenty that Mitt romney is disqualified from being the Republican nominee for president because he supports mandated healthcare.? She kept responding that she's against obamacare/mandates. Blitzer tried again to pin down some kind of answer. She evaded the question at every turn, didn't want to touch it and finally a frustrated Blitzer then says, "You obviously don't want to answer the question?" I know people say that nominees shouldn't attack other nominees yet but if not now, when? because Romney...

Bachmann may also be plagued by her involvement in a controversial pardon. In 2007, Bachmann wrote a letter requesting a presidential pardon for a convicted drug-smuggler and money-launderer named Frank Vennes. Vennes was convicted of money laundering in 1988 and pleaded no contest to a cocaine and weapons charge. Making matters worse, he and his wife donated a total of $27,600 to Bachmann’s 2006 and 2008 election.